Metal desk



F. P. WILLIAMS AND A. MCINTYHE.

METAL DESK. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, I920.

Patented Nov. 22, 192] I. q z yg m 4 SHEETSSHEET I.

" I 'iT INVENTCR.

ATTORNEY.

F P. WILLIAMS AND A. McINTYRE.

METAL DESK. APPLICATION mgu NOV. I3, 1926.

L 92 111 H 2H IS T Wu w u a 1T0 w M Di.

A TTORNEY.

F. P. WILLMMS AND. A. McINTYRE.

METAL DESK. APPLXCATION FILED NOV 13, I920.

A T TORNE Y.

Patente N 0v. 222, 192314 4 SHEETS-SHEEI 3.

7 APPLICATION FILED NOV 13, 1920. I Y l,39?,82'7.

F. P. WILLIAMS AND A. McINTYRE. METAL DESK.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI 4.

I llNVENTOR.

BY a 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METAL DESK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

Application filed November 13, 1920. Serial No. 423,856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we. Fnaxn P. \Vnmuns and ALLAN McIN'rYRn, citizens of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of lVayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improyements in Metal Desks, of which the following is a specification.

This 'nvention relates to sheet metal desks, and has for its object a sheet metal desk made .up of sheet metal that is folded and seamed together without bolts except in one or two instances. The job may he, therefore, very cheaply manufactured, and the finished desk presents a fire-proof, economical and light desk construction.

In the drawings;-

F1gure 1 is a perspective of the desk.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fi 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.. I Fig. 4: is a section on the line 4- of Fi 3.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

'ig. 6 isa section on the line 6-43 of F ig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective of the upper drawer support and guide.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective of the end of one of the top rails or glass retainers.

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the central tie plate between the two cabinets of drawers.

Fig. 11 is a perspective partly in section showing how the side plate fits into the corner plate.

The desk is made up of a pair of cabinets of drawers connected together, the slab of glass a forming the top. Each cabinet or drawer is made up of side walls I) and o, a front wall cl and rear wall 6. 'Each of these has a lock-seam fold b 0 d and 6 respectively, turned over at right angles at the top, and a seam fold b 0 d and 6 turned pver on the inside on the bottom. Into the bottom folds b 0 d and 6 looks the right angular flanges f of the bottom plate of the cabinet. There also looks into the folds b and o the right angular flange it of the plates 11 which have the upstanding doubledback flanges j that with the floor 9 form the and is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 7. It cornpr1ses a sheet metal plate having stepped side flanges Z and end flanges or hooks m at front and rear, the rear flange m fitting into the space between the plate 72. and rear wall 6 of the cabinet. The front flange m fits in the channel strip o (see Fig. 3). This channel strip 0 is fitted into the upper turnedover edge of the front plate (1 at this point designated 71, and the lower turned-over edge of the plate (Z at this point, while the inside edge of the channel strip 0 is beaded over as at 1'. This anchors the drawer support 70.

The cabinet drawers are designated 8 and comprise a single strip of metal forming side walls and the back wall and turned over into a finishing fold t at the top, and a locking fold a at the bottom that receives the turned-over flanges o of the drawer floor to. These flanges o and locking foldu form runners for the drawer upon the steps Z of the upper drawer support A: and upon the floor 9 of the cabinet for the lower cabinet drawers. The front of the strip ls lockseams at :1: into the turned-back edge portion y of the front plate 2 of the drawer (see Fig. 4).

Now referring to Fig. 4 again, it will be seen how the corners of the cabinets are formed and the various cabinet plates locked together. It will be seen that the side plates Z) and front plate (Z are provided with lockseamfolds b and d Corner strips 1 with lock-seam folds 2 and 3 are adapted to slide into lock-seam relation with the folds b and (Z to securely lock the two walls 6 and d t0- gether at the corners. The same is done at all four corners of each cabinet. At the drawer openings the front plate has turnedback folds d to reinforce the cabinet atthe corner strips 1 in conjunction with a triangular fillet strip 6 (Fig. 9) havin lockseam folds 7 lockinig into the folds 2 and 3 of the corner strip. provided with an'anchoring collar 9 that serves to anchor the caster spindle frictionally in between the walls of the corner post. The caster wheel is designated 10.

The two cabinets are secured together by the center tie plate 11 (Fig. 2) that has lock-seam folds 12 at its side edges which The caster spindle 8 islook into the folds c 0. of the side walls 0. This plate is shown in perspective in Fig. 10. This center plate 11 is provided with a front flange 13 with an opening to receive the drawer 14 (Fig. 5) and with a rear flange 15 turned over into a bead 16 adapted to receive the flange of the floor plate 17. The front and rear flanges 13 and 15 are provided with sub-fianges 19 and 20 that may be crowded in between the head 2 of the corner stri 1 and the side wall a, as shown in the bro {en away portion in Fig. 2, to securely-anchor the center tie plate to the two cabinets.

To further brace the two cabinets together, long bolts 21 run from one side wall 0 to the other side wall a of the two cabinets and are inclosed by a piece of sheet metal 22 which also acts as a spacer between the two cabinets.

To form the glass retainers, and also at the front and back of the desk to help join the two cabinets together, are four strips 23 of the construction shown in Fig. 8. These'strips look into the turned-over upper folds b 0 d and e -and can be slid into locking relation therewith. The ends are obliquely cut as at 24 (Fig. 8) to facilitate slidin of the locking strips together. Each one of these strips 23 has an upstanding portion and turned-over bear 25 that acts as a glass retainer.

A special feature of the construction described With the cabinets having turned-out lock-seam folds and the locking strips 23 and tie plates, such as 11, is that any number ma be coupled u into a single desk in much t c same vvay tiat book sections may be put together to make a sectional book case of a number of sections.

It will be obvious that much of the construction claimed could be used on ;-furniture in general, such as bureaus, chiifoiiiers, and

any other pieces. We have, therefore, used the word desk in the introductory phrase of the claims merely as words of description and not of limitation.

What we claim is:

1. In a metal desk, the combination of a pair of drawer cabinets of sheet metal having inside walls provided at their tops with lock-seam folds, and a central tie plate pro- 'vided at its sides with lock-seam folds oin ing strips), and a center tie plate having folds at the sides that lock into the lock-seam folds of the cabinet and having front and rear flanges provided with sub-flanges adapted to lock in between the said corner strips and the side walls of the cabinets.

3. In a sheet metal desk, the combination of drawer cabinets provided at their front, back and outside top edges with turned-over lock-seani folds, and strips of sheet metal having turned-over lock-seam folds adapted to slide endwise into locking engagement with the folds of: the cabinet for readily sembling the cabinets together andto icrm' a retainer for the top of the desk.

4. In a metal desk, the combinationof pair of sheet metal cabinets havingloclr seam folds turned-over at the top on each cabinet at front, rear and the outside, and sheet metal strips having on their under side a lock-seam fold adapted to engage in the lock-seam folds of the cabinets for assembling the cabinets together and having an upright portion with a turnedbver bead to act as a retainer for the top of the desk. i

In a metal desk, :1 sheet metal cabinet comprising side walls including front and back walls, a sheet metal reinforcing plate a .at the rear, a channel 0 secured to the front wall, and a drawer support and guide k having front and rear flanges m, m adapt ed to lock into the plate a and the chan- 1.161

6. in a metal desk, a sheet metal cabinet including four side walls secured together, a drawer support and guide it supported by the front and rear side walls of the cabinet and provided with stepped side flanges Z and a drawer 8 having runners formed by the lock-seaming of the side walls and bot tom of the drawer, which. runners engage upon the steps of the side flanges to guide the drawer.

7 In a metal desk, a sheet metal cabinet comprising front, rear, and side walls, the side walls having turned-over folds at their bottoms, a floor having turned-down side flanges adapted to look into the folds of the side walls, andguide plates 2' having turned-down flanges it engaging in the foids of the turned-over lower edges of the side walls of the cabinet and having at their inner edges upright portions whichnct as drawer guides.

8. In a sheet metal desk, the combination of drawer cabinets provided at their front and rear with top edges turned over into lock-seam folds, and stri s of sheet metal having turned-over loo seam folds by which the drawer cabinets may be detachably assembled together and braced when the strips of sheet-metal are-slid into loci-e its iltl

ing engagement with the look-seam feids of g the cabinet.

9. In a metal desk, a sheet metal cabinet tear/ea? comprising side Walls including front and back Walls, a drawer-supporting guide supported by the Walls and having step-like side flanges Z, and a drawer provided with tlep-ading runners supported to slide on said. st yoed side flanges.

ill In sheet metal desk, the combination of drawer cabinets provided along one of the top edges with turned-out lock-seam folds, and a strip of sheet metal having a turned-over look-seam fold adapted to sl de endwise into the folds of the cabinets for locking and assembling the cabinets together, substantially as described.

11. In a sheet metal desk, the combination of a drawer cabinet provided at one edge with a turned-out lock-seam fold, and .a strip of sheet metal having on its under side a lock-seam fold adapted to slide endwise into the lock-seam fold of the cabinet and lock thereinto and having an upright.

portion adapted to act as a retainer for the top of the desk.

In testimony whereof We afiix our signatures.

FRANK P. WILLIAMS. ALLAN MoINTYRE. 

